Short Term Volunteer Projects in Germany (1-13 Weeks)

Being able to come to the Excellence Center has been a truly eye-opening and incredible experience. Coming here as a 17-year-old knowing that all the other volunteers would be 18 or older, I was wondering if I would be the odd one out and left out of plans, 17 doesn’t sound too much smaller than 18, but trust me, it can be. Luckily, I was met with quite the opposite. Not a single volunteer here was anything short of amazing to me. Throughout my entire six weeks at the Excellence Center, I have been meeting dozens upon dozens of fascinating people who have explored and lived in all parts of the world doing all sorts of amazing things. They have all enjoyed spending time at the center sharing their fascinating stories with me and other volunteers, which I have found to be one of my favorite parts of the Excellence Center. Almost every night the volunteers would hang out at Docks, a spot right next to the Saale, and one night someone likened Docks to the place in every Sitcom where all the characters hang out every episode, and I thought that analogy was just perfect. After a long day of doing whatever all of us volunteers do in Germany, we can always count on being able to head over to Docks and find other volunteers to just relax with and talk to. To be honest, no matter where we are, whether we are at the Center or at Docks or in Berlin for the weekend, we always have new and interesting stories to tell about our culture and experiences in different countries, and with the amount of people that flow in and out of the Center at all times, there is always an abundance of conversation to be found here. Furthermore, with Fridays off, traveling around Germany and even Europe has been considerably more convenient and worth-while, and traveling on the weekends with other volunteers has been yet another way I have found meaning here at the Center. Even on the weekends I wasn’t planning on traveling outside of Halle with other volunteers, my amazing host family made sure I was never bored. We went to the lake together, the zoo, Leipzig, they made me dinner and made sure I was always well-fed and taken care of, they talked with me all the time and were just truly all-around amazing. I can easily say they also made my experience here at the Excellence Center one to remember forever.
I will say though, after spending six weeks here at the center, I have gotten close to a lot of people that I have had to say goodbye to after feeling like I had just started getting to know them, which has been hard. As much as I love being able to meet new people that come into the Center all the time, they all can’t stay here forever. But to be fair, I think that gives the Excellence Center a sort of charm, we all know that our time here is limited, and someone staying for barely even a week can relate to that feeling just as much as someone staying here for six or even eleven weeks can. We learn to appreciate the time we have here with the people we have here for a once in a life-time experience!

When I arrived at the Excellence Center, I was immediately greeted warmly by Ali, the volunteer coordinator and Rafat, the head of the center. Throughout my time there, the warmth never decreased, and I felt as if I was treated like a member of their family.
Being a volunteer teaching English at the Excellence Center means that you take on a number of students each week as pupils, from different backgrounds and with different skill levels. Teaching such a diverse group requires flexibility, and Rafat makes sure volunteers have such flexibility. As a volunteer, one gets the chance to create lesson plans tailored to each students needs. Not only does this help the students learn, but it helps the volunteers grow as teachers.
Another aspect of my experience at the Excellence Center has been learning German from Muaz. I am very lucky to have had this experience because Muaz is truly an excellent teacher. I arrived here with as little knowledge of German as one can have. Nevertheless, Muaz took the challenge of teaching a novice in stride. What I found most effective about his teaching method was that he made students comfortable making mistakes. He did this by pushing us to work hard but reminding us that making mistakes is how you learn. As our lessons came to a close, Muaz gave advice about how to continue learning German that I think will be invaluable as my study of the language moves forward. He has clearly put a considerable amount of thought into the best method of learning German and languages in general. Anyone would be lucky to have him as a teacher.
But the most meaningful part of my time at the Excellence Center was getting to be a part of such a warm community. Rafat excels at building connections with each and every one of the volunteers and at motivating the volunteers to connect with each other. This brings me to what I have loved the most about the Excellence Center. Each week that I have been here we have played football with Rafat, Muaz, and the volunteers that chose to join the game. I am not a skilled football player. For that reason, I was apprehensive about playing in the game. But Rafat and Muaz were encouraging to everybody and made sure that everyone could get involved in the game. This made for great fun and a good opportunity for bonding. All this is to say, if you are considering volunteering at the Excellence Center, I would recommend you go for it, and I recommend you do not skip the football matches while there.

My name is Yu Hua, I’m from Taiwan, I stayed at the excellence center for three weeks to teach English and learn German. I was trying to find volunteer opportunities in Germany a few months ago, and I found excellence center in Halle online. It is for sure one of the most memorable experiences I’ve ever had.

I usually started my day having breakfast with other volunteers at the center, and had classes with my students, mostly from Ukraine, the rest of the day. The teaching method was very flexible, I taught both individual and group lessons, for it depends on what suits them better. Usually, I liked to play games while teaching, it brought a lot of fun in the learning process.

Th excellence center is a loving place. I learned so much from both my students and my fellows. Being able to participate in this program was an amazing experience for me.

If I were to list the first word that pops into mind when asked to describe the staff, atmosphere, and character of Halle’s Excellence Center, I’d say “hospitable”. Whether it be during the process of getting acclimated to your living accommodation, your first breakfast in the building’s kitchen, or during the Q & A section involved with every presentation that a volunteer gives on his or her teaching methods, the emphasis that is put on truly getting to know the people you are working, and at times living, alongside is unmistakable.

Fittingly. the small size of the Center works to the advantage of fostering this communal atmosphere: since there are only a few rooms, it’s virtually impossible to not interact with your fellow volunteers or with your teachers outside of class time. As such, I found that, with only a handful of exceptions, it only took me a couple of days at most to get to know my fellow volunteers. Although there have been times when the lack of space has made it difficult to find a place where to teach lessons that contained items important to my teaching method (ex: a whiteboard, a map, etc), the people with whom I shared the space have always been incredibly accommodating provided I gave them prior notice about needing a particular room at a particular hour. The only real suggestion I could make would be to create a sort of “timetable” document in the group WhatsApp chat outlining when (date/time) a volunteer might need a specific space and for how long.

I also very much appreciated how much freedom the Center gave volunteers vis a vis designing and scheduling their own lesson plans: some of my classes have doubtlessly been more successful than others when it came to teaching my students, but I was only able to work out what did and didn’t work because I was allowed to experiment so often. In effect, I truly felt like “my own boss” and that experience is very hard to come by, even during volunteer opportunities. The Center’s language teachers and staff, more than anybody else, did an amazing job at making me feel welcome and were always there to listen and to provide advice when it comes to setting up lesson plans or even when the issue was just about getting over particular roadblocks in my process of learning German. The classes I took were often challenging, and I know that I still have a lot of room left to improve upon, but by the time they concluded in late June, I came away feeling like with enough time and extra practice over the course of years, I could eventually adopt German as a very strong second language. My only regret was that our cohort of A2/B1 German language students didn’t have more time (say, 2 or 3 more weeks) in class, as the mentorship and instruction provided by our teacher Muaz truly was irreplicable and invaluable.

I also really appreciated how many extracurricular bonding activities the Center ran, ranging from weekly soccer games to picnics to field trips outside of Halle. The way that the teachers and staff took part in games or team building exercises, or engaged with volunteers through telling jokes or stories, really helped dispel the type of hierarchical structures that can define a lot of language-based programs, and I felt that on some level, I truly got to know the staff and my teachers as colleagues, perhaps even as friends. The hike we took to in late June was an incredible time, and even the detour of being in Halberstadt helped make the experience feel singular. Going forward, I think the Center might even broaden the variety of activities and trips that they undertake. For instance, perhaps instead of going to play soccer one morning, volunteers could play a basketball game or go to Halle’s bowling alley one afternoon. More ambitiously, perhaps an all-day or even overnight trip to a place like Munich could be arranged (if students are able to pay for a hostel).

I’ve been lucky enough to have spent the better part of 3 months with the Excellence Center, and I can securely say that this period has been one of the most rewarding, and instructive ones of my life. Whether or not I go into teaching in the future, I feel like the time here in Halle has helped me gain a sense of purpose and perspective on my life and place in the world that I would have otherwise never gotten. Regardless of which stage of life somebody is in currently, or which profession he or she is in, I cannot recommend partaking in the Excellence Center program enough. It truly has been one of the best experiences of my life.

My experience at the Excellence Center has been very rewarding and transformative. As a volunteer, I had the opportunity to teach English to Ukrainian refugees. It was an incredible experience. Even though it was only a week I feel privileged to have been a part of their journey.

Additionally, my time at the Excellence Center allowed me to enhance my own language skills by learning German.I enjoyed the interactive classes and the opportunity to practice speaking with fellow volunteers. The center also provided comfortable and well-equipped accommodations. I had the pleasure of staying in a very nice room. I had the chance to meet people from diverse backgrounds. And made lots of new friends. The breakfast was delicious and a great time for all of us to get together.

I stayed at the center for only a week but it has been an unforgettable experience. Everyone is very friendly and very welcoming, there is a great atmosphere. Halle is also a great city with lots of different activities one can do. It is also nicely connected to other nice cities like Leipzig and Berlin that can also make a great day trip.

Being able to help by teaching English has been wonderful and it’s a nice way to give back to the community. Getting to talk with all the students and volunteers and listening to their own individual stories is a great way to open your mind and learn. I feel fortunate because we also get the opportunity to practice other languages like German.

I wish I could have stayed longer and definitely recommend the center to anyone who wants to help and gain new experiences.

I spent three weeks at the Excellence Centre in July 2023. In these three weeks I gained invaluable experience teaching English as a second language, living in a new city and getting to know people from many different countries and backgrounds.
It was my first-time teaching English as a foreign language, so I was initially slightly unsure how to proceed with lessons and teaching, however the many resources provided by the centre were a great source of knowledge and inspiration. I could also ask other volunteers about their experiences and if they had any advice, and this was extremely helpful for me. Having a starting conversation with the learner was especially helpful, because it was good to know the language ability as well as any specific themes or topics the person wanted to work on. I taught two people in my three weeks, and it was very enjoyable because we covered a range of topics.
Additionally I had 9 hours of German lessons, which was a great opportunity to freshen up some things I had forgotten, learn some new vocabulary and get some practice speaking it.
Another aspect that really appealed to me was the diversity of people at the centre. It was really interesting to meet so many different people from different countries. Working with Ukrainian refugees and hearing their stories was also a very humbling experience as it put my “problems” at home into perspective. Everyone at the centre was extremely welcoming, friendly and social which made coming and settling into Halle very easy for me and the delicious breakfast we had four times a week was a really nice way to start the day.
Halle itself was a pleasant city to spend three weeks in. It was not too big so I did not feel in anyway overwhelmed. There were also enough shops, bars, and restaurants so I was able to go out with the other volunteers in the evenings as well as a weekly football match amongst the volunteers. Furthermore, I was also able to visit Leipzig and Dresden as they are very easy to reach.
Overall, I had a great few weeks at the Excellence centre and in Halle and would thoroughly recommend the programme to any person who wishes to gain TEFL experience in a new city.

My time at the Excellence Center was an eye-opening experience that taught me a lot about refugees and their lives, as well as the German language. My host family was very welcoming and gracious, and I greatly enjoyed my time with them.

At the Excellence Center, we started the morning with breakfast, where I got to know the other volunteers. After that, I had German lessons, which taught me some new vocabulary. I also began to teach lessons in German to two refugees from Ukraine. I learned about where they were from, and even improved my German in the process.

I saw a lot of the city while I was here, including churches, historic buildings, the university, and a huge music festival. My host family and I became close, and I hope we will stay in contact in the future. Additionally, my German has definitely improved. It feels much more natural to speak than it did two weeks ago when I arrived. Volunteering was also a great experience that showed me the challenges refugees face, but also showed me the resilience they have.

The two weeks passed by quickly, and I wish I could stay for longer. Halle is a beautiful city, and I learned a lot from my time here at the Excellence Center. I hope to return to Halle as soon as I can!